Garbage disposal apparatus



Dec. 8, 1953 K. M. HAMMELL GARBAGE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Nov. 12, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l I'll INVENTOR. lawyer M fiwylyelz w pram/14 K. M. HAMMELL 2,661,909

GARBAGE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Dec. 8, 1953 Filed Nov. 12, 1949 s sham-sheet 2 :E lE=E/ z /25 lZa ELLE-4.:

% INVENTORA fig ya!" M flaw/71622 Dec. 8, 1953 K. M. HAMMELL 2,661,909

I GARBAGE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Nov 1g, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 220 If fr-+fi l i? INVENTOR.

l 'atented Dec. 8, 1953 GARBAGE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Kemper M. Hammell, Bloomington, 111., assignor to Eureka Williams Corporation, Detroit, M1ch., a corporation of Michigan Original application August 22, 1946, Serial No.

692,185. Divided and this application November 12, 1949, Serial No. 133,361

6 Claims.

This invention relates to garbage disposal apparatus and has particular reference to a means adapted to be associated with a drain outlet from a sink for reducing garbage and the like in order that the same may be conveniently disposed of.

Principal objects of the invention are to provide:

A new and improved garbage disposal apparatus;

A new and improved control arrangement therefor by means of which water will be supplied to the reducing apparatus during the operation thereof.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, of which there are three sheets, which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. I also contemplate that of the several different features of my invention, certain ones thereof may be advantageously employed in some applications separate and apart from the remainder of the features.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a garbage disposal apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of the reducing means shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a modified form of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary diagrammatic view of part of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a modified form of the invention; and

Fig. '7 is a schematic view illustrating a further modified form of the invention;

The invention contemplates a disposal apparatus which is constructed and arranged for grinding or reducing garbage so that the same may be carried away by the conventional drain system of a sink. The apparatus as illustrated is associated with a sink l0 and includes a hopper or chamber l2 for collecting the refuse material and feeding it to a grinding or reducing means indicated generally at M, which, as illustrated, is arranged to be driven by an electric motor It. A trough It in the form of a scroll is provided for collecting the reduced material and such trough is adapted to be connected through a spout 26 to the usual drainage system for con ducting away the reduced material.

The chamber i2 is formed in part by a frustoconical casting 22, the interior of which is formed to provide a series of vertically extending cutting teeth 24.

The upper end of the casting is provided with a marginal flange 26 against which an annular gasket 28 of resilient material is seated, such gasket being held by a ring is which is threaded on a collar 32. The collar 32 is threaded onto a ring 34 which defines the throat of the sink drain outlet, such ring 34 at its upper end having a flange which seats on the rim of the opening provided in the bottom wall of the sink.

A gasket 36 is clamped between the edge of the opening in the bottom of the sink and the collar 32. The interior of the ring 34 is provided with a shoulder 35 which forms a seat for a valve and closure 38 having a handle 46. is constructed and arranged so that one part thereof may be turned relative to another part thereof by means of the handle it in order to close the dram through the ring at or to permit water to flow through suitable perforations in the valve 38 into the chamber l2. The valve 33 is removable from the ring 3 4 in order to permit giateliial to be reduced to be fed into the cham- A baffle 42 may be secured to the lower end of the ring 34 and arranged so as to deflect material which is fed into the chamber l2 to one side thereof. The bafiie 42 is removable and will function when arranged as illustrated to prevent the insertion of a persons hand into the chamber 52.

A latch 44 arranged to be released by a lever M may be provided on the underside of the baffle 42 for releasably securing the same in position.

The lower end of the casting 22 is formed to seat upon a casting to and cooperate therewith to define the trough 18. The lower end of the casting 22 and the upper end of the casting 56 have complementarily formed surfaces between which a gasket may be inserted and a series of bolts extending through openings in the casting and having nuts secured to the threaded ends thereof may be provided for rigidly bolting the 55 castings and 22 together. The casting has a The valve 33 substantially flat surface 52 which forms the bottom wall of the chamber I2.

The rim of the surface 52 is formed to provide an annular seat 54 (Fig. 3) which cooperates with an oppositely arranged annular seat 55 formed in the casting 22 below the teeth 22 i thereof to support and locate a shredding ring 5%. The ring 53 is formed to provide a series of vertically extending teeth 66 projecting upwardly from the bottom wall 52 of the chamber 12 around the periphery thereof. The ring may be formed from a strip of suitable materiaLthe ends of which are joined together and is secured in position on the seats 5% and 536.

Slots 62 between the teeth 56 are of such length and width so that the garbage or other material to be reduced is reduced to the proper size before passing from the chamber 92 into the trough it. It is desirable to reduce the material to a sufiiciently fine state that it may be flushed by the Water flowing through the ap-' paratus down the drainto which: the trough ii, is connected by the spout 25. a

The casting 5d at-the center thereof isformed to provide support fora bearing is through and above which extends a continuation 72" of theshaft of the motor Hi. A- hub i l-is fixed to" that-part of the shaft 72 which extends above the surface 52' and this hub is provided with a plurality of radially extending arms it; Each arm carries a'pin it to which a swinging ham mer or impeller 8E3 isconnected, the pins i8 projecting from both sides of the arms-i6 and extending into suitable openings formed bifurcated ends of the impeller iii).- 'lheimpellers 31B are thus free to swing about the pins '53 as a pivot. A plate 62 provided with holes for receiving reduced ends of the pins'li; overliesthe' hub l land its armsanda nut M'threaded on'a threaded end of the shaft l2 retains the parts in their assembled relationship.

During operation of the motor which may rotate at a speed'of 1600 R. P. lVh, the centrifugal force of themass of the impellers 3d tends to hold the same in a radial position where they are operative-to move or impel themateria'l in the bottom of the chamber l2 against the shreddingteeth 6d. The material lying between the impellers tit will be brought into contact with the teethfiil while that material above'willbe'brought into contact with the teeth 25.

The teeth 65 and 24 during operation of'the impellers will produce a shredding or're'ducing action on the material in the chamber l2; impellers 88 are of such length that in their extended position they will clear the teeth 69 by a slight-amount, say for example; one-sixteenth of an inch. The hub l t, the impellers 80 and the driving means therefor form a means'for ro'- tating or turning the mass of material in' the chamber 12 in order that theteeth 25" and 6 may produce a reducing action thereon. Since" each impeller 85 is free to pivot about its securing pin l8, it is free to swing back about such pivot, that is, in a counterclockwise direction about such pivot, if it should encounter an obstruction such as might be caused by abone temporarily lodging against one of the teeth in the bottom of the chamber l2. When the material is reduced sufiiciently to pass through slots 62, such material will be discharged into the trough I8.- Water should be continuously supplied to the apparatus during the operation thereof so" as to aidin carrying the reduced material into the: trough. l8 and down the drain. The im 4 pellers 8!! act as rotary impellers for directing material through the slot 62.

The sink i0 is provided with the usual cold water supply, including the faucet H33 and cold water valve control or handle 32. Means are provided to insure the supplying of water'to the apparatus during the operation thereof and which comprise the following: A conventional rotary electric switch ltd may be provided in the current line its to the motor it for controlling the supply of current thereto and an operating knob Hi8 connected by a shaft Hi? to the mechanismof the switch Hi l is provided for turning the switch led off and on. The switch :64 is of the type in which rotary movement in one direction turns the switch on and rotary movement in' the opposite direction turns the switch off. The rod no has a drum H2 connected thereto to rotate therewith. A chain lid has one of its ends connected to the drum H2 and-its other end connected to a drum 1 iii which is connected to the shaft of the" cold water control Hi2 so as to turntherewith during opening.

and closing movement of the valvecontrolledby the lever- I92.

Assuming that the switch. i iiis open, rotation of the knob 93 in the direction of the arrow H8 will turn the switch [M on to close. the motor circuit. This rotation will also servelto wind'the chain lid on the drumiilz'. Since the other endof the chain is connected .to. the drum H9,- such movement of the knob L98 willtmovet the control Hi2 so as to open the cold .watervalve,

thereby permitting flow of water through the faucet illt'into the sinlc fromwhich it can drain into the chamber 42, if the valve 33- is open or removed. The. chain H4 permits-thecont-rol N32 for the cold water to be opened without- However; if the. switch is closed, the water valve must be turning on the switch I64.

open and closing movement of such valve control impart motion totherod lit for opening the switch NM.

The reducing means is disclosed and claimed in my prior copending application-, Serial No.

524,836, filed March 1, 1944, for Garbage Disposal Apparatus, now Patent No. 2,536,928, iLssuedJan uary 2, 1951', of which the present application isa continuation-impart.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. -and 5,-

a modified control arrangement is illustrated. In this modification, the inlet to:the chamber i2 is adapted to be closed by. a removable cup-shaped stopper I23, having a handle-1'21.v When the-stop per is removed, water is free to flow into the water to flow from the passage 22 into the chamber l2, but is of such size-so as to set up suificient back pressure or resistance to'flowof the water so as to actuate a pressure actuated double contact switch it!) (Fig; l) whichcontrolsthesupply of current to the motor through the line '32.

The water valve :25 as illustrated is of the self closing type and is adapted to b'e'opened" upon" energization of the solenoid H35, the energiza-tion of which is controlledby a' manually operated switch I36; Thus closing of the switch 92 will through the chain H4 serve" toits will energize the solenoid l3 l which will thereupon open the water valve I26, thereby permitting fiow of water to the chamber l2. When the stopper I20 is arranged in the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, back pressure in the water line will actuate the bellows [38 of the pressure actuated switch [30 to close the same,.thereby closing the circuit to the motor which is connected to the lines I32. With this arrangement, the disposal apparatus may be operated only when the stopper 26 is obstructing the inlet to the chamber 12. Removal of the stopper I20 will eliminate the back pressure of the water on the bellows, thereby permitting the switch I33 to open, as a consequence of which the motor circuit will be de-energized. With the stopper i2il in position, the motor circuit may be controlled by the manually operated switch I36.

In Fig. 4, switch 133 is in its open position and solenoid 53% is deenergized and switch I30 is open.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6, water is supplied to the chamber l2 by a water line 224 in a manner similar to that illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, and a stopper 223 when positioned so as to obstruct the opening between the sink and the chamber l2 as illustrated is adapted to create sufiicient back pressure in the water line 22 2 so as to actuate the pressure actuated double contact switch 23!) like the switch I30. The pressure actuated double contact switch 230 controls the circuit of the motor of the garbage grinder apparatus. With respect to the foregoing the modification illustrated in Fig. 6 is exactly like that illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. However, the valve 232 which controls the fiow of water through the line 222 to the garbage grinder is manually actuated, whereas in Fig. 4 the water valve is actuated by electrical means but is under the control of a manually operated switch 136. The valve 232, like the valve E26, is of the self closing type.

A lever 23d pivoted at 236 is connected to the projecting end of the valve stem 238. A chain 220 is connected at one end to one end of the lever 234 and at its other end to one end of a lever or operator 242. The operator 222 is pivoted at 264 and is movable about the pivot 244 in a counterclockwise direction so as to open the valve 222. A spring 246 cooperates with the lever 242 to position it either in the position as illustrated or in its other position in which it holds the valve 232 open.

By depressing the front end of the lever 2&2 the valve 232 may be opened and the spring 248 will hold the lever 242 in such position so as to hold the valve 232 open. A stop 228 is positioned so as to engage the lever 222 so as to determine its other position, that is, the position of the lever 242 with the valve 232 open.

Upon restoring the lever 242 to the position shown, the valve 232 will automatically close due to the pressure of the water in the line 224. When the valve 232 is open, water will flow through the line 224 into the garbage grinder and if the stopper or closure 222 is positioned as illustrated, the back pressure created thereby in the line 224 will operate to close the switch 233 so as to close the motor circuit. Removal of the stopper 222 from its obstructing position at the inlet to the chamber 12 will permit the switch 230 to open, which is its normal position.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 7, the construction is the same as that in Fig. 6 except that the water valve 332 is of the type in which the valve member is mounted on one end of a threaded stem 334 which is rotated by means of 6 a handle 336 between its closed and open positions. As shown, the valve 332 is closed but by rotating the stem 334 by means of the handle 333 the valve 332 may be opened so. as to permit the ilow of water to the garbage grinder and closing of the switch 230.

While I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention, it is understood that these are capable of modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. Garbage disposal apparatus for a sink cornprising a chamber having electric motor operated means for reducing the garbage, a water line for supplying water to said chamber including a valve for opening and shutting off said supply of water, a solenoid for operating said valve, an

electric circuit for energizing said solenoid to open said valve, a switch for opening and closing said circuits, an electric circuit for said motor including a pressure operated switch operable responsive to pressure in said water line on the downstream side of said valve for closing said motor circuit when said valve is open, said chamber being provided with a water inlet, and a garbage inlet from said sink and a stopper for said garbage inlet adapted to be positioned to restrict but not to stop the flow of water from said water inlet to said chamber so as to set up back pressure in said water line for operating said pressure operated switch, said pressure operated switch being constructed to open upon removal of said stopper from said garbage inlet.

2. Garbage disposal apparatus for a sink comprising a chamber having electric motor operated means associated therewith for reducing the garbage, a water line for supplying water to said chamber including a'valve for opening and shutting oii said supply of water, a solenoid for operating said valve, an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid to open said valve, a switch for opening and closing said circuit, said chamber being provided with a garbage inlet from said sink and a closure for said garbage inlet adapted to be positioned in said inlet, an electric circuit for said motor including a, switch operable responsive to positioning of said closure in said inlet for closing said motor circuit when said first mentioned circuit is closed, said motor circuit switch being constructed to open upon removal of said closure from said garbage inlet.

3. Garbage disposal apparatus for a sink comprising a chamber having electric motor operated means for reducing the garbage, a water line for supplying water to said chamber including a valve for opening and shutting oii" said supply of water, manually operated means controlling said valve, an electric circuit for said motor including a pressure operated switch operable responsive to pressure in said water line on the downstream side of said valve for closing said motor circuit when said valve is open, said chamber being provided with a water inlet, and a garbage inlet from said sink and a member for said for supplying water to said chamber including a manually operated valve foropening and shutting off said supply of water, anelectric circuit for said motor including a pressure operated switch operable responsive to pressure in said water line on the downstream side of said valve for closing said motor circuit when said valve is open, said chamber being provided with a water inlet, and a garbage inlet from-said sink and a stopper for said garbage .inlet adapted :to .be positioned to restrict but not to stop the flow of Water from said'water inlet to said chamber so as to set up back pressurelinsaid water line for operating said pressure operated switch, said pressure operated switch being constructed to open upon removal of said stopper .from said garbage inlet.

.5. Garbage disposal apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said inlet is provided with an open-sided passage to which said water line is connected and from whichlp-assage water flows into said chamber, a portion of said stopper when positioned in said .inlet partially obstructing the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,044,564 Carter June 16, 1?;36 2,244,402 Powers June 3, 13 21 2,428,420 Green Oct. 7, 19%? 2,536,372 Jordan Jan. 2, 1951 

